BUSHEY MEADS SCHOOL: A SPECIALIST TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE ISSUE 01

Student Librarians By Wendy Castle, Librarian

We are extremely fortunate at Bushey Meads to have a large well stocked library which is very heavily used by staff and students alike at all times of the day.

With our whole school emphasis on literacy and reading, we have thousands of books to choose from to suit all interests and reading levels. Students can borrow books before school from 8.00 am, at break and lunchtime and come to Homework Club after school. There need never be any excuse for a student not having a reading book with them!

To help run our busy library we have an excellent team of Student Librarians to assist us before school, at break and at lunchtime. Our current team are:-

Luke – 11Sycamore, Amie – 9Sycamore, Nathaniel – 9Oak, Fatima – 9Maple, Benjamin – 8Beech & Chloe-Mai – 8Beech

Their duties include issuing, returning and shelving books, booking computers, assisting students in finding books and helping them on the computers. They also help at our Book Fairs and author visits.

We will shortly be looking for new members to join the team from amongst our year 7 students. If any student is interested in becoming a Student Librarian please come and collect an application form and job description from the library.

Bushey Meads

NEWS

BUSHEY MEADS SCHOOL: A SPECIALIST TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE ISSUE 02

Student Librarians: Nathaniel, Luke, Amie, Fatima, Chloe-Mai & Benjamin

Themed Lunches

By Chef Nathan, ABM Catering

ABM Catering will be delighted to showcase regular themed Lunches throughout the School year, with one planned for every half term.

They will begin on the 14th October

with a Curry Lunch Day; an extensive range of freshly cooked Asian Food, with accompaniments

and sides.

Curry Lunch Day - 14th October 2014

Arash, 7 Elm KS3 - Student of the Week

By Bill Fisher, Assistant Headteacher

One of our new Year 7 stu dents, Arash, certainly stepped up this week. He delivered to a packed hall of nearly 400 parents and students a brilliant speech he had written himself. He actually delivered his speech four times over, because that's how many times we

packed out the hall during Thursday's very busy Open Evening. Showing absolutely no nerves at all, his word-perfect oratory would have allayed any concerns the

young students in the audience might have had about coming to secondary school.

Our Correspondent in Nepal By Mrs Reid, Modern & Foreign Languages (MFL) Faculty

Mrs Reid of the MFL Faculty is currently in Nepal carrying out a reciprocal visit to our colleagues as the culmination of two years of extremely hard work completing a project through the British Council.

We were extremely fortunate to have been awarded a grant in order to complete this project. The teachers flew to Delhi then onto to Kathmandu, finally ending up in Pokhara, fairly near to Everest basecamp.

Mrs Reid was shocked at the level of poverty when she arrived in Kathmandhu, but says that being able to visit the schools has been a ‘magical experience’.

Students from the linked schools have been corresponding with each other and have been delighted to receive mail from so far away. Mrs Reid and our colleagues from Little Reddings and Falconer School got up at 5.00 am to view the sunrise in the mountains. Mrs Reid is hoping to have her dream of riding an elephant come true before the end of the week!

A year 6 English class in progress

Demonstrating photos to a very shy child!

Some students have to walk many miles to get to school

Arash at Open Evening

Summer Site Developments By Peter Waite, Director of Finance

As always in the summer break our site staff have been extremely busy dealing with the many projects which can only be undertaken when the site is unoccupied.

The main project was the installation of a new roof on H Block for which we received a grant of £246,000 from the government. A new work area was created for teachers, called the Professional Learning Area, in the library with individual work stations and 14 new PCs. Several new offices and store rooms were also built

All classrooms in the school now have brand new red chairs in line with our corporate image across the school. In addition, many window blinds were cleaned and classrooms were

redecorated. The ’Base’ in A Block was given a new look with new doors, carpets and a full redecoration. A deep clean and redecorating took place throughout most of the school. Canvases of art work were exhibited to celebrate the achievements of our students.

Much back ground work continues to develop the site for the additional 30 students we will be taking in next September. We now have an agreement with Hertfordshire CC to provide £3.55 million of funding for new classrooms and a Sixth Form Centre. Planning permission for this has been applied for this month.

This year, as part of our collaborative work across our innovative Multi Academy Trust, our site staff also undertook extensive work at Little

Reddings Primary School. Two large, new ovens were installed for the 180 extra lunches they now have to provide free to students. Extensive grounds work cleared overgrown areas and new paths and fencing were installed to make the site more user friendly and secure, including a new tree-seat. Many rooms were also redecorated and refurbished. We hope you all enjoy the enhanced facilities on your return to school.

Profile on Sara Ash, Assistant Headteacher (KS5)

With the start of a new academic year, we have several new members of staff who have joined the Bushey Meads community. Over the next few weeks we will give you a profile on each of these, starting with the most senior addition, Ms Sara Ash, who has joined our Senior Leadership Team as Assistant Headteacher, responsible for Key Stage 5, ie our Sixth Form.

Ms Ash has been a teacher for 18 years, joining us from Queens School. She has two children, both of whom are at secondary school too, so conversation in their household must be very focussed on secondary education!

When she has any spare time, Ms Ash loves singing, and is member of Radlett Choral Society. Her other interests include reading, listening to music (anything from Classical to Rock), going to the theatre, and last but not least, walking her dog.

Ms Ash has been on board at Bushey Meads for three weeks now and says she already feels very settled within the school community and is looking forward to celebrating the successes of all our students. We are of course all very pleased to have her on board with us and wish her a long and successful career at Bushey Meads.

NEW STAFF

Teaching & Learning By Hilary Morawska, Deputy Headteacher We are only half way through our third week of this Autumn term and whilst visiting lessons, both Mr Turner and I have been delighted with the excellent teaching and learning taking place in our school. Alongside this, our students are receiving both verbal and written feedback from their teachers, from which they should be responding in order to further improve their learning. As stated, in last week's newsletter, please ensure that you check your child's work and discuss their teachers' comments and ask them to show you how they have used this feedback to improve their learning. This week, we have also launched a marvellous opportunity for our enthusiastic and committed young learners as we seek to appoint, from our student body, a cohort of 'Student Learning Consultants' (SLC's). We aim to have our SLC's represented from within each year group and as well as having a key role in helping to shape the future of teaching and learning in our school, they will also hold the following key responsibilities:

Acting as Visitor Ambassadors in classrooms, where they will explain the teaching and learning that is taking place as part of their welcome to classroom visitors

Being responsible for taking part and leading student surveys focusing on teaching and learning

Meeting with key staff to develop ideas to improve engagement and achievement across the school

Acting as role models for learning in their lessons

Being and exemplary student and lead learner in as many subjects as possible I am sure you will agree, this is a very exciting role and one which will enable the students to develop many skills, all of which will be of great benefit when they apply to our sixth form and their universities. Students from all academic backgrounds, subject interests and year groups can apply. We are looking for young people who are keen to learn and develop themselves and those around them. Interested students have been asked to write a letter of application to Mr Turner (no more than one side of A4), detailing why they want to become a Student Learning Consultant at Bushey Meads School and what skills and experience they feel they have which will make them suitable for the role.

The theme of the week this week is “Responsibility”. Students heard from their Pastoral Managers on

what responsibility entails and students explored this idea further with their tutors.

For example, Mr Allen, Pastoral Manager for KS4, spoke to Year 10 and Year 11 students about taking

responsibility for their studies and becoming independent learners, emphasising that, with GCSE exams

on the horizon, now is the time to ensure they are fulfilling their potential. He encouraged everyone to

grasp all available opportunities and not to be afraid of taking on extra roles such as in the forthcoming

school production or as peer mentors.

Ms Dhanecha, Pastoral Manager for KS3, shared a motivational speech by Barack Obama which clearly

explained to KS3 students how to take responsibility for their learning and achieve great things – both in

and out of school.

An Indian Summer Lunchtime at Bushey Meads By Bill Fisher, Assistant Headteacher

After a tough morning's study the recent Indian Summer has meant students have been able to relax by enjoying our beautiful grounds during lunchtime. In the shots here we see a group of Key Stage Three girls using the shade of one of our ancient trees to discuss their mornings learning, or maybe catch up on some gossip.

The sun seems to have helped put our sixth formers in good spirits too - they seem to prefer sitting up on one of our many benches; well, they do have their new suits to keep looking good.

And letting off some steam, a group of Key Stage Four students are honing their football skills on the astroturf.

Sophia Demetriou-Jones, 13 Elm KS5 - Student of the Week

By Sara Ash, Assistant Headteacher Sophia is currently in Year 13 and is our first KS5 Student of the Week. She has been awarded this for her contribution at the school Open Evening last week where she delivered a speech to an audience of 400 parents on 4 separate occasions throughout the busy evening. Sophia spoke about her journey through Bushey Meads from Year 7 to Year 13. She achieved 3 A grades and 1 C grade this year in her AS examinations and is currently studying History, Law and Spanish. Sophia told the audience about her future aspirations to study Law at university. Many parents congratulated Sophia on her confident speech which Sophia delivered flawlessly despite her nerves! Well done Sophia.

The Power and Potential of the Bushey St James Multi Academy Trust By Jeremy Turner, Executive Principal of the BSJT and Headteacher of BMS

As most parents are aware, Bushey Meads School is in an exciting and innovative partnership with Little Reddings Primary School and the two schools have together formed a Multi Academy Trust. Under the umbrella of the Trust Board, the two schools operate independently under their Local Governing Bodies and retain all that is superb and unique about their settings, effectively run by their experienced Headteachers and Senior Leadership Teams.

However, working effectively together, the two schools can share best practice and work collaboratively to further the provision for all young people in the local community.

In addition best value can be achieved between the two schools in terms of training for staff and governors and in a number of key support related areas, including site management, ICT support and finance and HR services to name a few.

One example of this collaborative working took place on Wednesday evening of this week when members of the two Governing Bodies came together to participate in a joint training session focused on Pupil Premium Provision. It was a very successful session that involved many elements of sharing good practice between the two schools.

A New School Vision….. By Jeremy Turner, Executive Principal Last June it was a privilege to meet with all the staff at Bushey Meads School and spend some time reflecting on the ongoing vision for the school as we all work together to build on the success of the past towards an even brighter future. Certain key words and core values were recognised very strongly and we also devised a clear Commitment Purpose and Intent seen below. Underpinning all of this is our new school motto Aspire to Achieve. As parents and carers do discuss what you can do to support the vision for the future and ensure every success for your children.

Strategic Commitment Purpose & Intent:

We are committed to ensuring that all students enjoy reaching their full potential, becoming lifelong learners

and positively contributing to society.

School Motto: Core Values:

Aspire to Achieve Aspire to Achieve Aspire to Achieve Aspire to Achieve Aspire to Achieve Aspire to Achieve Aspire to Achieve Aspire to Achieve Aspire to Achieve Aspire to Achieve Inspirational Saying:

Aspire to Achieve

From little seeds Mighty Trees can Grow

Dates for your diary…

20th September 2014 8.00am-4.30pm, Year 6 Technology Test 22nd September 2014 10.00am-3.15pm, National Junior Games 24th September 2014 8.40am-3.15pm, UCAS Personal Statement Day 1st October 2014 8.30am-5.30pm, Debating Matters: First Heat 1st October 2014 4.00-9.00pm, Year 13 BTEC Music Solo Recitals 3rd October 2014 5.30am-10.30pm, Year 9 Trip to Ypres 7th October 2014 9.00am-4.00pm, Year 9 Brighton Field Trip

Word of the Week By Mike Dawson, Head of English Faculty

“observe” (verb) 1. to watch carefully 2. to notice

Example: we observed that the more we practised and rehearsed, the more confident we were about our drama coursework. To observe is more powerful than to see. It implies time spent looking and thinking carefully, and it has an air of authority to it. For example, to observe something in a science experiment suggests you are sure of what you saw.

Each week try to speak and write the word of the week as often as you can. Over time and after each and every week at school you will begin to build up and extend your vocabulary. Imagine the difference to your spoken and written communication by the time you leave Bushey Meads School.

At any job or college interview or during any future course of study or employment you will stand apart as a very literate individual!